A Last Hurrah
by hydra man.EXE
Summary: Choices we make affect not just us, but people around us. Zero finds this out from X, and makes his own choice.


A Last Hurrah

Disclaimer: All Mega Man characters all belong to Capcom. The song belongs to the creator, not me.

It's Finally Over.

Those were the words that made relief and happiness wash over X.

The war with Sigma ended just yesterday. He, Axl, and Zero infiltrated Sigma's last fortress and took him out for the last time, this time, making sure to destroy every last trace of DNA that belonged to him. On the ride home, the three heroes started talking about their futures, now that the last copy of Sigma was destroyed. Axl said he would probably stay with the hunters, wait for them to end. X decided to take Signas' offer of running MHHQ for the remaining days. However, Zero did not answer them; he just looked out into the sunset.

When the last surviving hunters returned to the base, a party was thrown in the gym to celebrate victory. X was getting drunk over by the bar with Alia while Axl was checking out the girls on the dance floor. After awhile, X managed to become sober enough to finally notice that Zero was nowhere in the gym. He left the party in search of his friend, whom was somewhere around HQ. He finally found him in the garden, sitting on the grass and looking up at the October sky, deep in thought.

X walked over to see what he was up to.

"Hey", X greeted.

"Hey X, how's the party", Zero asked while still looking up at the sky.

X sat next to Zero "Everyone is enjoying the party; I came looking for you, what's wrong?"

Zero sighed and replied, "I'm just thinking, about the past, what we had to go through to see our goal accomplish….."

"Remember the ones that fell in action", X added.

"Yea, that's basically it, I can never forget those brave men."

X looked at him and said, "Zero, you don't have to blame yourself for this, you always had a choice over this; many humans were saved because of you."

"But think of all the reploids that were killed because of these choices X, think about them," Zero said now looking at him.

X looked up at the sky before he replied, "Those reploids had a choice, to fight for something they believed in or to back out and let us take care of this."

As he got up and headed for the door, he turned around and said to Zero, "They are choices you have to make in life, both good and bad, just follow what your heart and spirit tell you."

X left him to think about those words, and yet, could not help look back on the choice he made when it came to someone he was close to. Zero remembered the battle with Iris, Colonel, and many friends that went maverick. As he pondered these thoughts, he heard a song in the wind, one that Iris sang to him long ago……..

((Love Taught Me – Blue Gender))

_Even If the days,_

_When I smiled a lot,_

_Should turn out,_

_To be nothing but a lovely dream,_

_That would be alright with me,_

_If that's all it means,_

_My minds unrest struggling with me,_

_Recalling the past who I could be,_

_Gotta Rise and be strong,_

_Gotta be tough but not lose the person I am._

_Two lives I have,_

_One live I live,_

_One life I dream._

_In dreams I rember the better in me._

_Vision won't let me down,_

_I'm depending on you._

_Carry me through,_

_When I see... reality._

Zero compared this song with his life, two lives, one he lived, and the other a dream. All the happy moments came back to him slowly, his days joining the Maverick Hunters, meeting Colonel and Iris for the first time, his first date with Iris, his run-in with Axl, and now this. He finally saw the reality in all of this, but still, he already made his decision.

((Hours Later))

Reaching the cave he was first found in, he made his way to a chronic freezer he made for himself. Since the virus was still inside him, he decided to freeze himself while an antivirus ran through his systems, eradicating the maverick virus. Before he could make it to the tube, Axl and X showed up, hoping to coax him out of it.

"Zero, is this your choice," Axl asked.

Zero, without looking at either person, replied, "Yes, this is my choice to make; I have decided to seal myself away and eradicate this dreadful thing once and for all."

X looked at him and said, "But what about the people that care for you, didn't you ever consider what this would do to them?"

Again, Zero replied, "It's my choice to make X, even if no one agrees, it's the only way."

X looked down at the dusty floor and said, "If this really is your decision, then I will see through it with you."

"I will as well," Axl said.

Zero turned to them and gave them a trademark smirk and said, "Thanks you two, I'll see you later."

Zero hopped inside the freezer and shut the lid. The liquid nitrogen filled the tank and sent him into a frozen slumber, the antivirus scan activating. This was the last time anyone saw Zero. X went on to continue battling mavericks with Axl for one hundred years until X died and Axl vanished. As X fought in the wars, battle after battle, he stopped caring for the fight. Without his friend Zero, the fights meant nothing but more bloodshed. Axl had supported X until he was killed in war and Axl himself vanished. No one truly knew what happened to Axl, but X still watched over Zero until he reawakened after the fighting stopped. Zero went on to create a new world, with the help of the scientist Ciel; he made his own peaceful world, his own garden, his own Eden.

Words from the author:

This story was inspired by the song above. All of us remember the happy times we shared with others and the times where we lost some. We all live two lives, one in reality and the other a dream. A place where we work to survive, a world where we call our own shots, smiles that we shared with others, and times where we remembered our past. Our spirits thrive to see that most of our desires and dreams are accomplished, that makes our spirits unrest, wanting to see the dream thru. You've got to rise up and be strong, but not strong enough to loose who we are and our dreams. Even one simple dream can turn into reality if you put your mind to it! And if the smiles and happy times just turn out to be dreams, just remember, it can change your future.


End file.
